Zhu Biao agreed with Mu Ying's view. The imperial court took away Gu Zhengchen's cardiopulmonary resuscitation and life-saving skills, and took away his body-building skills without giving him any reward. Now he wants to take away his tactical backpack, so he can't say anything about it. None.
What's more, sewing tactical backpacks requires manpower, material resources and financial resources. Even if the mother is responsible for it, she will not be able to supply the needs of the army even if she drags the concubines and palace people to sew. It will inevitably require recruiting women from the private sector to participate. Zheng
In this case, why not leave the matter to the people of Jurong and let them sew it, and the court will just provide some money.
Zhu Yuanzhang was a little angry, everyone belongs to me, and you and Gu Zhengchen are all mine. If you have good things, you have to give them to us for free. How dare you ask for benefits, a hundred thousand backpacks and five thousand taels of silver? How bold!
It is Zhu Yuanzhang's character to monopolize the benefits and not suffer losses.
Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was a little angry, Zhu Biao picked up the document on the ground, put it on the desk, and said calmly: "Father, Mr. Gu explained the reason for doing this at the back of the document. He wanted to take advantage of the Ministry of Finance's opportunity to purchase a tactical backpack. Recruiting a group of poor women and handing them over to sew, and paying them money and food per piece, in Mr. Gu’s words, this is to help the poor and farmers, not for personal gain.”
"Alleviating poverty and helping farmers?"
With a straight face, Zhu Yuanzhang picked up the document and continued reading. He saw that the document said:
"The people are in dire straits, and they sew and mend every day, but it is difficult to fill their stomachs. I asked for a decree to recruit clever women and entrusted them to sew tactical backpacks. The court purchased them and gave them money and grain. The money and grain were counted and given to the clever women. The clever women used the money and grain to support their families, which turned into two heavy taxes. Return to the hands of the imperial court. Only when your family has surplus grain and wealth can you dare to send your son to a private school. Please ask your husband to buy what you need for your family. Business is booming and the business taxes are collected and sent to the national treasury..."
"This is because the Ministry of Households purchases money and grain, and the people have money and grain. The two taxes give money and grain, and the business tax gives money and grain. The people get something, the business benefits, and the Household Department gets something. All three benefit. The policy of the minister is not for personal gain. , is actually a way to help poor families and revitalize Jurong. I heard that the education of the people should start with a full stomach. People are hungry and whimpering, but they are not afraid of shame, and the king of education is difficult to reconcile..."
After Zhu Yuanzhang read it, he was still a little dissatisfied.
After all, this guy wants to use the money from the state treasury to support the people of Jurong. It is simply nonsense. The people still need the court to support them, so what is the use of the people?
After watching patiently, Zhu Yuanzhang's face looked better until the end.
"Although the sewing of tactical backpacks is a strategy to alleviate poverty and help farmers, it is also a business and should be taxed. I am willing to receive a heavy tax of 1/15 and give it to the Ministry of Household Affairs. I pray for your majesty's approval, and the people of Jurong will be very lucky. , Your Majesty Gu Zhengchen paused again."
Fifteen tax one!
This guy also knows how to pay taxes, but he is still cruel to himself and imposes heavy taxes. The imperial court's current commercial tax is thirty to one tax, and it would be a bit unkind to refuse to agree.
Through this heavy tax, the court could recover at least a few hundred taels. Moreover, if he wanted to sew things, he also had to buy linen, which required labor. This transaction was not considered a loss.
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't lose his dignity, so he dropped the document and said, "Tell Gu Zhengchen that if he comes up with a problem that can stump everyone, I will agree."
Zhu Biao was a little depressed, Dad, are you agreeing or rejecting? How can one question stump everyone...
Mu Ying looked at Zhu Biao, somewhat helpless.
Zhu Biao handed over another document: "Father, here is also a petition from Mr. Gu. He hopes to build Jurong into a new cotton textile center, so that the people of Jurong can take this opportunity to become like Songjiang." The house is just as prosperous."
Zhu Yuanzhang took the document, looked at it, and smiled: "Concentrate your efforts on big things? This guy is just a conversationalist. I don't need to approve this kind of thing. He is the magistrate of Jurong County, so he still has this power. It's just that he needs to Tell him that if things don't get done, it will waste people's money and cause public resentment, I will never take it easy!"
Zhu Biao and Mu Ying were much more relaxed. At least one thing was done, and the other thing needed to be taken care of Zhengchen's wisdom.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the tactical backpack, with longing in his eyes, and looked at Zhang Pei and Yao Zhen: "Can you still run? If you can run, go back. If he can't hold everyone back, I will kill them." It’s time to make this tactical backpack. If it weren’t for me, it would take many years for Jurong to make one hundred thousand tactical backpacks. I can’t wait for him for too long!”
Zhang Pei and Yao Zhen quickly said: "We will go to Jurong immediately!"
"Go ahead, this is a business trip and you are allowed to use the post horse."
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.
Zhang Pei and Yao Zhen withdrew from the Huagai Hall. Seeing that nothing happened, Zhu Biao and Mu Ying asked for orders to leave.
East Palace.
Zhu Biao sat down, ordered someone to serve tea, and smiled at Mu Ying: "Mr. Gu wants to do something big in Jurong. I am looking forward to it. I wonder if in three or five years, Jurong will become a different scene." .”
Mu Ying grimaced: "Prince, Mr. Gu may not be able to make this tactical backpack. His Majesty's oral instructions are better than rejecting it outright. In addition, what Your Majesty said is reasonable. It is not easy to build a hundred thousand backpacks in Jurong County. Such sharp weapons need to be tested in the army as soon as possible. After all, the sergeant is wearing armor, so we still need to find a perfect way to make the tactical backpack not burden the sergeant and increase his combat effectiveness."
Zhu Biao smiled lightly and said relaxedly: "Brother Mu, don't look at Mr. Gu. He is a man with methods. Trust him alone."
Mu Ying looked at Zhu Biao, saw his firm gaze, and slightly moved her mouth: "The prince really trusts Mr. Gu."
Zhu Biao smiled heartily, stood up and said: "My father taught me to learn how to see people. The people in the East Palace can see through it, but this Mr. Gu can't see it through. The strategies he proposes are based on the people, and the methods he implements are based on the people." There is nothing wrong with a person who cares about the people and wants to do something for the people. What's more, he has already assessed the difficulties, explained the reasons, and took the initiative to propose a condition of one tax for fifteen years. His father set a difficult problem for him, so how could it be true? It’s hard for him.”
Mu Ying's eyes lit up: "What does the prince mean?"
Zhu Biao took two steps and said seriously: "My father is bargaining with him. After all, five thousand taels is not a sum. It can be converted into fifty taels for a tactical backpack. As long as he takes the initiative to lower the asking price, my father will Then he will be allowed to do so."
Mu Ying was so ashamed that she really looked down on her adoptive father Zhu Yuanzhang. He was an emperor, so some words should not be made clear. After all, this matter related to the Ministry of Revenue and the treasury, so one always needs to be more cautious.
Jurong, county government.
As he became familiar with the work of the county government, Gu Zhengchen discovered that the county government was not open to the people, but announced the announcements on March 6, 9, and 9 in the middle of every month.
The so-called release of complaints means that people are allowed to complain, and the county government accepts the petition paper.
Do I still need to choose a date to file a complaint?
Gu Zhengchen expressed confusion.
If you buy a duck neck in the first grade of junior high school and it is replaced by a rat head, you have to wait until the third grade of junior high school to file a complaint. During this time, not only the rat head but also the rat tail has been swept away, so why should you file a complaint...
Moreover, during the busy farming season, usually the county government will suspend the lawsuit, which means that it will not accept the petition paper. If you have any grievances, the village chief or the elderly can handle it on the spot. If it is not possible, you can go to the county government to file a complaint after the crops are harvested.
Of course, when the lawsuits were settled during busy farming days, the county government did not completely refuse to file complaints, but only accepted major cases, such as homicide cases, robbery cases, etc.
If you brag and get beaten up, if you quarrel and get beaten up, as long as no one is killed, it doesn't matter on weekdays.
Of course, the date of release of notices is not a mandatory requirement, but is the default in various places. Some magistrates and counties are lazy, or in some places, "the people are honest and simple", and there are two notices a month.
However, Gu Zhengchen said that this system was really unfair to the people, and announced the abolition of the three-six-nine system, which announced announcements on nine days a month, and switched to a system of issuing announcements on alternate days, with announcements being issued on the 15th day of the month.
Outside Chengfa's room,
Behind a long table, Zhao Qian was sitting in a chair. The table was covered with paper, and the ink had been rubbed out. He looked at the passers-by and almost said hello: "Don't miss it if you pass by. I will write the petition for you. No charge." if.
However, after waiting for half a day, Zhao Qian did not see anyone coming forward to complain. Instead, he saw some people poking their heads and watching from a distance.
Disappointed, Zhao Qian closed the stall and went back to report to Gu Zhengchen.
Gu Zhengchen was not surprised. It was not as cold as one day.
The most important thing is that the people of Jurong are afraid of offending the powerful clan.
After all, Gu Zhengchen is just an outsider, serving a three-year term and leaving at will, but these powerful clans are deeply rooted. Now that the case has been overturned, who knows whether the case will be reversed three years later?
Furthermore, although Gu Zhengchen showed goodwill and showed courage to fight against the powerful clan, in fact, he did not do anything to the Guo family. He just gave Guo Jie a slap in the face. This was not good for the Guo family. , no loss at all
If you want to break the ice, you have to dig hard.
Gu Zhengchen decided to use the case of Sun Yizhi and Sun Erkou to give the board or ghost head knife to one or more people in the Guo family to win back the hearts of the people and rebuild the "credibility" of the county government.
Just when Gu Zhengchen was thinking about where to start, Zhang Pei and Yao Zhen ran back to the county government office out of breath.
Looking at the two people who came back, Gu Zhengchen felt a little numb. You two were taking this two hundred miles back and forth too seriously, just running back and forth.
Zhang Pei and Yao Zhen walked bow-leggedly, with faces that did not hide their exhaustion and pain.
"If you have any questions, come inside."
Zhang Pei saw that there were many people in the second hall and did not dare to speak up.
Gu Zhengchen returned to the magistrate's house and arranged for someone to deliver tea.
Zhang Pei repeated Zhu Yuanzhang's words exactly, and finally advised: "Your Majesty got angry twice and was quite dissatisfied with Mr. Gu's behavior. Your Majesty believes that the business of this tactical backpack should be left to the imperial court."
Gu Zhengchen analyzed Zhu Yuanzhang's mentality, thought about it, smiled at the worried Zhang Pei and Yao Zhen, and said relaxedly: "There is no need to turn around when you are angry. Your Majesty, as long as I come up with a difficult question, I won’t object to this.”
Yao Zhen was sweating anxiously: "Mr. Gu, it is rare in this world that there is no problem with housing. Your Majesty is asking Mr. Gu to retreat in spite of the difficulties.",
Gu Zhengchen took his time and took two books. After unfolding them, he folded the pages of the two books together and handed them to Zhang Pei and Yao Zhen who were confused: "Go back and tell your majesty about this deal." ——Jurong accepted it. The annual quota is 50,000 knapsacks. In addition, taxes will be charged at the rate of 12 to 1 tax."
